A Fighter's Desire (Gloves Off 0.5 & 0.6)(13)
I wasn’t as confident as her, especially after my encounter with Ryley. There was something about him that made me nervous; I didn’t know if I could tame him. His brother was more than likely the same way, although I had to admit, it would be kind of fun to try taming one of the Twins of Terror.
“Well,” Matt started, looking over at me, “I agree the twins need to be taken down a notch or two. If you think you can do it, then by all means go for it. However, be forewarned, they’ve been known to break a few hearts.”
“My heart doesn’t break so easily,” I told him honestly. “Besides, I turned him down.”
Shaking her head, Gabriella snorted and put her arm around me. “I don’t know how to tell you this, Ash, but I think you just made one of the biggest mistakes ever. He’s not going to give up on you until he gets what he wants. He doesn’t like to lose.”
Rubbing my hands together, I smiled and bit my lip. “Well then, let the games begin.”
The party for the night happened to be at none other than Ryley and Camden’s house … or at least at one of their homes. They had a couple of them on the California coast, and it just so happened they had one in the Los Angeles area. Must be nice to have a shit ton of money.
My family earned a decent amount, but they were very conservative with it. I honestly didn’t see the point in having six different houses or a garage full of cars; it was a waste of money.
“I wouldn’t go wandering off if I were you,” Gabriella teased. “Otherwise, I might not see you until morning.”
We got out of her little silver sports car and headed up to the door. There were so many people around it was crazy. “You have nothing to worry about. I don’t plan on falling victim to Ryley’s charms tonight.”
Snickering, Gabriella opened the front door and ushered me inside. “That may be true, but I’m curious to know what you would say if both of the twins tried to get you tonight. They do have a habit of sharing things, you know. I’ll admit, if I knew my brother wouldn’t kill them I’d probably let them do whatever they wanted with me for the night.”
“Really? You think they would be that good?” I asked skeptically.
Gabriella scoffed, “Please, from all of the stories I’ve heard, how could they not be.”
I needed to hear those stories. I’d been with only a handful of men, but never two at once. I honestly think I would go insane with just one of them … much less both. I had yet to meet Camden, but if he had the same pair of hypnotic blue eyes as his brother I’d probably give in without a second thought. It may be best I don’t meet him.
Inside of the house, the lights were dimmed while everyone stood around talking, drinking, and dancing as the music blared from all around. As soon as I had some drinks in me, I planned on getting out there and having fun as well.
Over the loud music, Gabriella squealed and pulled on my arm, squeezing us through the crowd. “Oh my God, Ash, he’s here!”
“Who?” I shouted, laughing as she pulled me along.
“It’s Tyler, my brother’s friend.”
By the time we got across the room, my toes throbbed from being trampled on by the drunken dancers, but I sucked it up and kept walking. The last thing I wanted was to look like an idiot hobbling across the floor.
“Tyler!”
After she shouted out his name, she ran right up to him and he scooped her up into his arms. There was an awkward exchange where they almost looked like they wanted to kiss, but he set her down instead. Interesting. Gabriella ran her hands through his platinum blond hair and pursed her lips. “Now why did you cut your hair? It’s all gone!”
Tyler shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I needed a change. I kind of like it short. Don’t you?”
Gabriella sighed, and then smiled. “Of course I do. You’re still the same Tyler even with shorter hair.” Pulling me to her side, she waved back and forth between us. “I want you to meet my friend, Ashleigh. Ashleigh, this is my friend Tyler. Now you two talk while I get us some drinks.”
Quickly, she scampered off and left us alone, but Tyler filled the awkwardness by extending his hand. “Hey, Ashleigh, it’s nice to meet you. Do you go to school with Gabriella?”
Taking his hand, we both shook firmly and then let go. His eyes were a stormy gray, completely different from any color I’d ever seen; they were mesmerizing.
“I do,” I replied. “I met her in one of our classes a couple of years ago. College life has definitely gotten a lot more exciting with her in it.”
Tyler smiled and finished off his cup of beer. “I don’t doubt that. She’s definitely an interesting female.”
“That she is,” I mumbled.
About that time, Gabriella came back carrying two cups filled with some kind of red liquid. “Hey, I’m sorry it took so long. I kind of got sidetracked.” Narrowing my eyes, she bit her lip and quickly nodded toward another fighter who I knew to be Paxton Emerson.
He was pretty hot with his dark hair, sea green eyes, and tattoos down his tanned arms, but he wasn’t exactly one of the good guys. I didn’t know many of the fighters, but his reputation was widely known; he was bad news.
Gabriella shook her head, clearly not wanting me to say anything. I wonder what happened. “The guy at the bar said it was a hurricane. I have no clue what that means or what’s in it, but it looks good. Anyway,” she said, holding out one of the cups for me, “bottoms up, baby.”